Ummm, none of those videos are working for me Matt. Anyone else having any luck?

John, I've never seen what you might call "full contact" aikido either. That might just be that the philosophy behind Aikido does not suit an MMA type environment. Personally, I just don't think Aikido practitioners are training to deal with other MAists. I don't have a problem with that, since thye majority of people out there don't have experience in MA, or at least will be unlikely to use it well under stressful conditions. Having said that, if Aikido is not practiced under such a resisting environment, it does bring into question whether the Aikidokas will be able to do their techniques under stressful conditions.

Tomiki isn't really full contact. And I would concur with John, most aikido isn't done full contact. However, the brutal applications are very well hidden in the art. Take for example, irimi nage. Most aikidoka do a rather pathetic version and expect uke to fall over. I don't. I show how to break the neck on the throw. Obviously this sort of thing can't be practised in a training scenario, so we are left with a facsimile of something akin to a dance.

The unwritten contract between uke and nage during practise is one of duty of care - which I'm sure is the same in any other martial art. After all, if you hurt your training partner, not many will want to train with you. So we end up doing a less realistic technique.

The problem is, most people get stuck in the mentality, that that is how the technique is done - forgetting that the martial intent is behind every single technique we do.

But then again, I wouldn't call what I do "aikido".... but for others they can practice what they want.

I think the point you make about the "duty of care" is a critical one. Sparring partners are supposed to work WITH each other, not against each other. This is especially critical where sparring partners have differing levels of skill. The more skilled partner's job is to challenge the less skilled one, not overwhelm them.

Another point is that a martial art's effectiveness can sometimes be enhanced by stripping away some it's more dangerous techniques. This is what Kano discovered with regards to Judo. By elimating some of jujutsu's more damaging techniques, his Judo students were able to spar with much greater intensity and under much more realistic conditions. This realstic training was worth far more than the handful of techniques that Kano discarded.

big problem with that, the tori has got his head down, it takes time to put the lock on, in the mean time uke has his hands free, punch him in the head while its down, no forget the head., go for the throat.

You know, I have found that aikido-style footwork to be very effective in sparring situations. The turns and spins work well for me. Kind of similar to boxing footwork, but taking into account grabbing and clinching.

_________________________"In case you ever wondered what it's like to be knocked out, it's like waking up from a nightmare only to discover it wasn't a dream." -Forrest Griffin